South African rand slightly stronger on hopes Syria attack a one-off

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South African bank notes featuring images of former South African President Nelson Mandela (R) are displayed next to the American dollar notes in this photo illustration in Johannesburg August 13 2014. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was slightly stronger early on Monday as global investors hoped that U.S.-led strikes on Syria would not escalate into a wider conflict.

At 0628 GMT, the rand traded at 12.0700 versus the dollar, around 0.1 percent stronger than its close on Friday.

The rand was volatile last week, see-sawing over global trade war fears and tensions between the United States and Russia over Syria. Domestic factors receded.

On Monday U.S. stock futures firmed and oil prices fell on relief that the attack on Syria had been limited in scale.

Analysts at NKC Research said they expected the South African currency to trade in a range of 11.90 to 12.15 to the dollar on Monday.

Government bonds were little changed early on Monday, with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2026 down 1 basis point to 8.075 percent.